Tag: Horror Game Mechanics
Research Log
When Buildings Dream: Environmental Storytelling in Horror Game Design
Environmental storytelling in horror game design is vital! I say it over and over in this blog, but even the most unsettling monster pales in comparison to the dread of entering a room that somehow already knows you’re there. An empty room is a truly unsettling thing… particularly a large room, and especially one you’ve…
Research Log
Disorienting the Player: The Power of Non-Euclidean Horror Spaces
Introduction Horror games thrive on subverting expectations, unsettling players by disrupting their sense of control and security. However, when the environment itself becomes the antagonist, fear reaches an entirely new level. Non-Euclidean horror spaces—environments that defy conventional geometry—are a powerful tool for crafting immersive, mind-bending terror (Osudin, Denisova, & Child, 2024). By manipulating space in…
Research Log
Dynamic Weather: Amplifying Atmosphere in Horror Games
Dynamic weather systems have revolutionized the interactive world of video games. Weather is bigger than us, it has no sympathy for or fear of us and regardless of how powerful we become as a species, weather still has the power to crush us like ants! This makes the inclusion of weather systems in horror games…
Research Log
Horror Games: Integrating Cinematic Techniques and Player Agency
Horror games, as we have discussed many times on this blog, occupy a unique space in interactive media. They combine storytelling and gameplay with the unashamed goal of evoking profound emotional responses. Achieving this goal often requires the careful fusion of cinematic techniques and player agency, it’s a juggling act where the designer is striving…
Research Log
Beneath the surface: Thinking about crafting suspense in horror games
Watching horror movies or playing horror games makes it easy to forget that horror is one of the most intricate genres. Crafting suspense in horror game design relies on a multitude of subtle, atmosphere-driven techniques to captivate and terrify audiences. Unlike more overtly action-based horror, environmental horror leverages setting and sensory cues to evoke fear…
Research Log
Creating a Simple Horror Scene in Unreal Engine: A Step-by-Step Guide
When designing a horror game, the atmosphere is everything. A single room, a flickering light, and a strategically placed shadow can evoke fear and anticipation. In this blog post, I’ll create a basic horror scene in Unreal Engine. I have focused on lighting and interaction. This is a simple setup: a hotel room where a…